Brussels – Less time wasted on administrative burdens to devote it to business activity, for the sake of innovation and expansion. And then tidying up European regulations to allow businesses to save at least 5 billion euros a year by 2029. The European Commission is putting its hand to the digital sector again, with a simplification effort that touches the EU Artificial Intelligence Act a little over a year after it entered into force. A few targeted, but far-reaching and therefore considered indispensable amendment proposals, “aiming to create a more favourable business environment for European companies”, underlines the Commissioner for the Economy, Valdis Dombrovskis.
Targeted amendments to the Artificial Intelligence Act
Staying true to its 2025 work agenda focused on broad regulatory simplification, the European Commission is proposing changes to the Artificial Intelligence Act to extend certain simplifications granted to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small mid-cap companies. These include streamlined requirements for technical documentation. This measure should generate an estimated savings of at least EUR 225 million per year. Secondly, it is also proposing to broaden compliance measures so that more innovators can use reference regulatory reference and more tests in real-life situations, especially in key sectors such as automotive. It also wants to strengthen the Office for Artificial Intelligence’s powers and centralize oversight of AI systems based on generic AI models, reducing governance fragmentation.
“Closing the innovation gap and cutting red tape are key drivers to boost the EU’s productivity. Our Digital Omnibus seeks to do both,” Dombrovskis sums up.
Revision of the GDPR on personal data
The work to improve production and business conditions for companies active in the digital sector also results in harmonising the rules for reporting potential cybersecurity incidents. Companies are currently obliged to report incidents under different regulations, including the NIS2 directive, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). The intention is to address this situation by establishing a single incident reporting access point. In addition, the plan is to merge the different pieces of legislation “for enhanced legal clarity” in a business-friendly manner.
“The objective of the targeted amendments to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is to maintain the effectiveness and integrity of this landmark regulation while also addressing stakeholder calls to clarify, simplify, and harmonize the GDPR,” clarifies Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, Rule of Law and Consumer Protection. “It is essential that the European Union acts to deliver on simplification and competitiveness while also maintaining a high level of protection for the fundamental rights of individuals – and this is precisely the balance this package strikes.”
Digital Business Wallet, a tool for savings of 150 billion
Finally, the Commission aims to create a unified digital tool that enables companies to digitalise operations and interactions that, in many cases, still need to be done in person. Digital signatures, exchanging documents and information, or even expanding a business to other Member States, paying taxes and communicating with public authorities: everything will be computerised to save time and, above all, money: “Assuming broad uptake,” the EU executive estimates that European Business Wallets will enable European companies to reduce administrative processes and costs, thereby unlocking up to EUR 150 billion in savings each year.
According to Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, the path set out by the College of Commissioners with these initiatives is the right one: “By cutting red tape, simplifying EU laws, opening access to data and introducing a common European Business Wallet, we are giving space for innovation to happen and to be marketed in Europe.”
